About privacy and confidentiality in social applications Essay

About privacy and confidentiality in social applications - Essay Example Legal frameworks and ethical standards of various nations protect the interests of the users of social applications such as search engines and wikis in regard to their privacy and confidentiality of personal information. This includes protection of user information from unauthorized access, use or sale of confidential data by hackers. The designers and administrators of social applications are therefore mandated to ensure that private data on users is treated with utmost confidentiality. Regardless of this, the privacy and confidentiality of user information has been infringed by being exposed to unintended or unauthorized parties and used for unintended purposes by system attackers. This essay gives a critical analysis and discussion of the privacy and confidentiality of data and information within social applications including blogs, social networking applications, blogs and wikis. The paper includes a comprehensive review of literature with an aim of giving a background analysis o f the research on the topic. Past literature within journals, conference and workshop papers are analyzed including the methodologies used by the investigators on confidentiality and privacy within social applications. The proposed approach for an investigation into the privacy and confidentiality of data within social applications is also presented within this essay. The paper is based on the assumption that the breach of privacy and confidentiality of users is the greatest challenge that is facing social applications. Surveys on privacy and confidentiality within social networking applications and text chats reveal that these two aspects are considered to be an ethical standard and the recognized around which the development, maintenance and use of social applications should be based (Belanger & Crossler, 2011). Qualitative studies on legal frameworks and regulations on privacy and confidentiality reveal that these aspects are considered as one of

Compare the Ways in Which the Roles of Women are Portrayed Essay Example for Free

Compare the Ways in Which the Roles of Women are Portrayed Essay When focusing explicitly on the topic of a woman’s seemingly ever-evolving status, one would constantly perceive it to be a working progress of the woman and the rise of her independence. So, why when analysing both, ‘The Wife of Bath’ and ‘Death of a Salesman’ do these roles of the most prominent women seem to be in reverse? The history of a woman’s autonomy branches outwards from the past, therefore enforcing the idea of a woman, living in an earlier period, to exist under high demands of fulfilling the traditional expressive position. Yet with regards to Chaucer’s tale, why is it that Alisoun is able to possess characteristics that are both a controversy for the 14th century during in which it was written, and to a certain extent, this era momentarily? On the other hand, the 1950s ‘Death of a Salesman’ harbours a heroine who remains true to her decade’s basic notion on how both a woman and a wife should persist to be, consequently presenting Linda Loman as a stock character. With a distance of 6 centuries, is there an abstruse intention to why both the female protagonists are depicted in an unusual fashion, and totally out of the ordinary when its context is taken into account, or, is this simply the writers’ approach to manifest some sort of a response, whether it be mere shock, indulgent laughter, or utter appreciation? The titles alone contain an instantaneous conception on how both women are portrayed concurrently. ‘The Wife of Bath’ obtains an immediate link to Alisoun, unlike ‘Death of a Salesman’ which simply refers to Willy Loman and includes no innuendo of his wife Linda. Alisoun’s ownership of the tale is reinforced by the noun ‘Wife’ as a direct association to her, suggesting that she is the focal point of the tale. But is she? The prologue is definitely in her possession with her martial history being the key plot; however the tale on the other hand clearly centres the knight as the protagonist, consequently endorsing the audience to make an initial judgment on Alisoun’s character as one which is strong enough to acquire her own title. Maybe Chaucer’s main purpose was to make his eponymous hero a female to either stagger the audience by the pragmatical meaning of this whereby such power and eminence is handed to a female character, or to purely ridicule a woman with any supremacy, and in effect, is symbolic since it contains the intention of formulating humour for an audience existing in a 14th century world. With this reasoning in mind, the common use of the noun ‘Wife’ would then become a more abstract version of this since, in essence, this is merely an idea of her control and alliance to the city. Perhaps the title ‘The Wife of Bath’ can be decoded then as a euphemism that solely associates with Alisoun’s, ‘Housbandes at chirche dore I have had five-‘ This has been translated as a misrepresentation of her being promiscuous which uses hyperbole to reinforce the concept and also assists in the beginning of a caricature adaptation of a woman who is unlike most others. On the contrary, since ‘Death of a Salesman’ purely refers to Willy, this would consequently support how dominating the male gender had been in the early 50s. In relation to Linda however, the absence of any insinuation of her in the title holds a vital insight of how she is portrayed through the play itself. This maintains the persistent imagery of Linda conserving her private role as a housewife, and to an extent, Willy’s constant positive conscience, Willy – ‘I suddenly couldn’t drive anymore. ’ Linda – ‘Maybe it was the steering wheel again. ’ The adverb ‘Maybe’ certainly exhibits some indecision with Linda’s response indicating that even though she may not entirely know what Willy requires, she knows it is necessary for her to provide a reasonable answer that will help ease the blame off Willy, facilitating the assumption of Linda’s loyalty to her husband, even during the worst of times. Arthur Miller’s intention of having no connotation to Linda in the title could be indeed for the purpose of supporting the idea of her selflessness compared to Willy’s egotistical behaviour. This theory of Linda’s ignored compassion is also demonstrated when Willy commits suicide. ‘I can’t understand it. ’ This simple sentence is most commonly used with the verb ‘do not/don’t’, but, semantically, Miller permits Linda to unusually phrase this with the modal auxiliary verb and the nagator ‘can’t’ to express her rejection towards comprehending his refusal of living life fully. Perhaps the importance of this approach was to portray just how vulnerable and helpless not just Linda, but the rest of the female population was in the 50s. As if to say it had nothing to do with the capacity of the female brain but the knowledge of where that woman should remain to be. The title is therefore a description of Linda’s personality and depicts just how much Linda is taken for granted. In the earliest stage directions of ‘Death of a Salesman’, the lexis used to describe Linda Loman all relate to the semantic field of household items and the act of obeying a person: ‘stirred’ ‘iron repression’ ‘admires’ ‘listening’ Semantically, theses lexicons relate to the play itself. The stative adverb ‘admire’ implies Linda may not feel worthy of Willy therefore she can only have a high regard for him and not the ability to put herself in his position. According to this then, Linda could be summarized as a character that has a low opinion of herself. The comparison to household items proves to be crucial since it could be categorized as an exposition, introducing the audience to Linda’s most prominent characteristic. A more modern audience, and in particular contemporary women, would argue that this was very demeaning since it implies this was all they are known for. Throughout the description of the Wife from the General prologue, the audience obtains a direct inkling of her character. ‘Housbandes at chirche dore she hadde five’ This sentence delivers an eye opener as to what Alisoun’s social status is. Since only the elite managed to marry inside of a church, this would then imply that from the age of 12, Alisoun has supposedly not ascended the ladder of social mobility. The syntax of this however creates some hesitancy to admit the true number of her failed marriages. Given that she leaves the actual amount ‘five’ till last reinforces the idea of her true emotions towards them. The similarity between Linda and Alisoun then would be that aside from the fact that one woman has had considerably more partners than the other: Alisoun is still in search of love, remaining to be ever willing to find her true match. This is further proven with the syntax from the quotation. As ‘Housbandes’ is the first word in the sentence, it indicates she finds pleasure in having a husband because of the urgency to articulate the concrete noun ‘Housbandes’, despite the fact that they were all failures. Linda’s crime is that she loves her only husband far too much. It is evident that in spite of her devotion to Willy, he still ignores her and takes her for granted, Linda- ‘Take an aspirin. Should I get you an aspirin? It’ll soothe you. ’ Willy- ‘I was driving along, you understand? ’ Here it is visible that Willy does overlook his wife completely by his sudden change in topicality and the flouting of the Grice’s maxim of relevance. Perhaps this is due to the way he perceives Linda, and the minimal respect he has for her. This is further evident with his tag question, ‘you understand? Unlike Robin Lakoff’s female language theory, this does not abide by her rules. In her opinion these tag questions imply a need for some support rather than a critical remark. However it is obvious that Willy does not require any backing since he is the most dominant speaker. The pragmatics of this statement show how much of a low disregard he has on Linda’s capability of understanding such a simple concep t as driving, consequently suggesting he does, in actual fact, take his loving wife for granted. Miller’s intentions here differ depending on the gender perspective. Since this is one of many occurrences where Willy insults Linda’s intelligence, this provides evidence of her complete devotion to her husband. Perhaps this mirrors the reality of the 1950s’ female audience therefore Miller’s motive in creating such a character was simply to please the existing female population at that time and nothing more. From a male point of view following the same thesis of art imitating life, Willy’s ability to have both control and authority over Linda would have also been Miller’s method in satisfying the male audience. Linda’s speech also indicates some reluctance of being abrupt towards her husband. ‘Take an aspirin. Should I get you an aspirin? ’ This reads to be an almost repaired statement, strengthening the notion of her delicacy when interacting with her husband. Depending on the stage direction as to how this is supposed to be acted out, another contention could be that Linda’s true being slipped out for a moment. The unusual abruptness of the first sentence followed by the modal verb ‘Should’ may imply how Linda must always remain to be conscious of the words she speaks even if she truthfully isn’t like that. This could possibly have been Miller’s subtle approach in exposing just how human a woman truly is. Linda’s character is one that appears to be careful in every action she undertakes, Alisoun on the other hand gives the impression of being self-sufficient in her decisions. ‘What that he mente therby, I kan nat seyn; But that I axe, why the fifthe man Was non housbonde to the Samaritan? How manye mighte she have in marriage? Yet herde I nevere tellen in myn age Upon this nombre diffinicioun. ’ In a Russian Formalist literary opinion, her attitude here in this verse would suggest she is blasphemous and very defensive of her deeds. By allowing an illiterate female commoner challenge basic Christian belief, Chaucer invites an astonishing controversial angle on reality. An audiences’ reaction to this from the 14th century would be of great annoyance towards Alisoun since she occupies no immense background to express such a powerful opinion. According to the first line ‘What that he mente therby, I kan nat seyn’ this also suggests that her judgment is based on a more personal outlook rather than facts. From my own 21st century perspective following the same Russian Formalist fundamentals, this verse stands to be an opinion and nothing more. Alisoun’s analysis may not have changed but the reaction from the audience would have instead. In actual fact, her intrusive manner would have been one that would have been valued despite of her gender. Regardless of the fact that both texts are fictional, their mediums exhibit various conclusions: since ‘The Wife of Bath’ is classed as poetry there are some limitations as to what could have been written. It would appear that Chaucer’s main objective was to entertain the listener rather than being factual. This is evident due to the consistent structure of rhyming couplets and alliteration. Somme seyde women loven best richesse, Somme seyde honour, somme seyde jolinesse,’ There is a distinctive pattern here which works throughout the rest of the tale. Seeing as though there are no breaks or clear stanzas in the poem, the use of parallelism suggests that a list is about to form without abiding by the usual formation of a list. The rhyming, alliteratio n and sibilance ‘Somme seyde’ ‘richnesse’ ‘jolinesse’, adds emphasis on the ideas explored throughout the tale in a way which amuses an audiences of any age. Death of a Salesman’ has none of these restrictions, whereby no rules or patterns are needed to be followed. Miller is able to write as he wishes, therefore could it be said that this enables him to write according to the truth? As an audience we are only ever permitted to listen and believe the character’s opinions. This limits exactly how much we should class as valid and thus acts as a confinement of plays in general. The importance of this does not only rest on how valid these texts are historically. In context to the essay question, the mediums affect the way the theme of power is portrayed. With the aid of humour, Chaucer is able to manipulate how the audience perceives the unusual occurrence of a woman who owns such authority. This comedy enables the audience to interpret the dubious topics mentioned in the prologue half -heartedly therefore suggesting that the text can’t completely be taken seriously. Conversely ‘Death of a Salesman’ does not include many entertaining scenes to conceal the control Willy has over Linda and consequently Miller sanctions the audience into producing their own take on the subjects referred to all through the play. Sometimes a woman’s basic actions can be justified by her experiences. Alisoun has the ability to convey such intense concepts because of her endless incidents in the past. Her character’s reputation appears to be licentious which consequently enables an audience to reign in on their annoyance of her. Chaucer has portrayed Alisoun in a way which can only be described as caricature. What should be taken into consideration is that perhaps Chaucer’s overall intention when creating such an exaggerated character like the wife was to humour the audience with the ridicule of a woman with such freedom. Or perhaps it was to produce a character like no other that owns the ability to question the acts of society and their standard beliefs. Out of the entire ‘Canterbury Tales’ there are only two women who possess the ability to tell their story: the Prioress and the Wife. Since the Prioress already maintains the basics of a 14th century woman graciously, Alisoun is possibly Chaucer’s technique in inventing a woman who stands for everything the ordinary woman of that time would not and as a result, portrays life on each end of the pole for all types of audiences to experience. Linda’s character owns a front which, even after the analysis, maintains the idea of an obedient wife. However, the initial idea of her abiding by this characteristic has evidently changed. Yes, she still sticks by with her husband, even after affairs and a lack of care and attention, but is she not a stronger woman in spite of all this? Alisoun has the ability to end her marriage as soon as it goes wrong as if to say she is still searching for her ‘ideal man’ and so self-sufficient that she refuses to lead a miserable life, yet Linda remains to be as courteous as ever even after the marital problems. For a 1950s audience, Miller birthed a female icon, a woman who exists in a realist play regarding the common aspiration of the attempts at conquering the ‘American Dream’. All in all, the roles which appeared to be in reverse now seem to walk side by side along the path of independence. Six centuries apart, diverse situations at hand but both individualistically vigorous women ready to undertake what life has planned for the both of them.

An Analysis Of The Genesis 22 Religion Essay

An Analysis Of The Genesis 22 Religion Essay The chapter begins with a pattern of introduction that usually suggests a new wave in the trend of events. And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abrahamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. In verse 20, the same introduction is used in stating that Abrahams brother Nahor had been born children by Milcah. It is known from the onset that God is testing Abraham. The primary aim of the test is to teach Abraham that obedience and commitment are vital to keeping covenants. Obedience to covenant obligations brings guarantee of the fulfilment of Gods promises and fresh bestowal of the blessings that go with covenant keeping. God calls Abraham to take his son Isaac, whom he loves very much to a land which he will show him and offer him for a burnt offering (verse 2). The practice of human sacrifice in ancient near-eastern society is here revealed. In verse 3, Abraham obeys Gods command without any grudges, rising up early in the morning and taking along with him the persons and materials needed to perform the sacrifice. His response to Gods call Behold, here I am shows Abraham has entrusted his future and life into Gods hands. He makes himself totally available for Gods purpose. The prophet Isaiah showed a similar attitude in his vision. Abraham surrenders totally to God knowing he was going to be the founding father of Israel. An important truth is learnt about what happens when Gods word is followed-up with obedience in verse 4. He lifted up his eyes and sees the place of the sacrifice from a distance. He did not need God to speak again for him to ascertain the place. Revelation and divine knowledge and insight follow obedience to the word. Verse 5 shows Abraham leaving his servants behind in the Journey and moving on with Isaac. It seems true worship is a personal thing that often involves the individual going beyond the point where most people can or are willing to go. His faith is unshaken in his confession that he and the lad will go, worship and come back. He understands this is a test and so far, he seems to be doing well. Isaac, the object of the worship is not oblivious of the happenings around him. He is aware a burnt offering is to be performed but does not see any lamb for it. This makes him curious, and even though he was later bound up by his father for the sacrifice, he did not resist ( 7-10 ). Abraham demonstrates his faith once again in God by assuring Isaac of Gods providence ( verse 8). In some way, the whole story is allegorical. Isaac is portrayed as a type of the Christ to come, for as Jesus carried his cross to the place of his crucifixion so Isaac carries the wood for the sacrifice demanded by God(22: 6). Abraham is seen often assuming the status of a god-figure. Twice he is called upon, both by God and Isaac and he responds, here I am'(1). His response with this phrase is reminiscent of the revelation of God(Yahweh) when He speaks to Moses( Ex. 3:14). In Jesus confrontation with the Pharisees, the same title he uses pitches him against them because they taught of him as a blasphemer equating himself with God. This same statement by Abraham is not only indicative of his total availability to God. It in some way makes the parallel of Abraham as a God-figure tenable in the same way that Isaac, the object of the sacrifice is representative of the true lamb in the new testament, Jesus Christ. Isaac carries the wood for the burnt offering ( 6 ), as Christ carries his cross. The place of the sacrifice in the land of Moriah( verse 2) is later seen in the mountain of Jerusalem where Solomon eventually built the temple of the Lord (2 Chron. 3: 1). It plays on the Hebrew word to see (raa) used by Abraham in verses 8 and 14 as to provide. The fact that Abraham was the first to offer a sacrifice there when he eventually offered the ram caught in the ticket shows that he first instituted true worship to God. He was the first to worship God there. It took Abraham three days to find the place of worship. This is probably a half-way point of the entire journey to and fro that would take about seven days. In verse 9, Isaac is bound by Abraham, ready to be slain, yet he does not resist even though his father had already told him that God will provide a lamb for the sacrifice. He is a type of the Christ described in Isaiah 53: 7 who as a lamb brought to the slaughter, opened not his mouth. Abrahams reply to Isaacs question that God will provide himself a lamb for the sacrifice (verse 8) is an act of his faith in God. He had earlier obeyed Gods command to go somewhere to sacrifice his son. Now, he has to assure his son that the object of the sacrifice will be provided. In verse 10, Abraham demonstrates his faith totally by stretching forth his hand with the knife to slay the lad. God sees Abrahams heart that he truly fears him and speaks through his angel from heaven. God is pleased with Abrahams willingness to entrust all his future into his hands. Verse 13 shows Abrahams faith yielding fruits. He had told his son that God will provide a lamb for the burnt offering. Now, the Lord has indeed provided. He sees a ram caught in a bush by its horns and uses it for the sacrifice. Abraham later calls the name of the place Jehovah-jireh, acknowledging that God had indeed seen to or provided. Verses 15- 18 is a re-affirmation of covenant promise by the same angel of the Lord that spoke earlier on. God gives his word through his angel in promise to Abraham that he will bless him and multiply his seed as the stars of the heaven because he has obeyed his voice, trusted him and was willing to sacrifice for covenant. His seed shall posses the gate of their enemies and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed through them. Covenant promise earlier made demands obedience and faithfulness. Now faithfulness in that covenant walk has brought more assurance of more blessings. In verse 19, Abraham returns to his servants and they go and dwell in Beersheba. The underlying theme in the story is the fact that human sacrifice which was a core part of societal life is here seen to be abolished and replaced with animal sacrifice. Infant sacrifice was customary to the nations that dwelt about Abraham and would later become an important practice in Israel (2 Kings 16: 3). Israels realization that the first born belongs to the Lord resulted in their seeking alternative sacrifice that would redeem the first born. Abraham pioneers Israels change from the practice of the other nations through Gods direction to redeem his son by the ram. In verses 21 to 24, the writer notes that Abraham receives news of the children that have been born to his brother Nahor through Milcah. Perhaps the news of multiple bodily fruitfulness is a sign of the promise by the angel of the Lord. The children born to Nahor are Huz, Buz, Kemuel, Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel. Rebekah, the wife Abrahams servant would later choose for Isaac is the daughter of Bethuel mentioned here. Kemuel is the father of Aram. Nahors concubine Reumah also bore him four children by name Tebah, Gaham, Thahash, and Maachah. This part of the chapter completes the geneology to the second generation of the children of Terah, besides the children born to Abraham by Keturah (25: 1-6). Abraham had fathered Isaac. Now, the younger brother Nahor has twelve children; eight by his wife Milcah, and four by his concubine Reumah. Jacob, Abrahams grandson would later have the same number of children by his wives and concubines. Out of the twelve children born to Nahor, three would become names of places or nations. In Genesis 10: 23, Uz is mentioned as a son of Aram. It is the homeland of Job (Job 1: 1). This is probably northern Edom. The country of Buz is the homeland of one of the friends of Job (32: 2). In Genesis 24:15, Bethuel is seen as a personage. Buz is home to one of Jobs friends ( Job32: 2). Hazu (and Bazu) are mentioned by the 7th century Assyrian king Esarhaddon. In short, Abrahams entire family is blessed even though his youngest sibling Ur, who had fathered Lot had died in Haran. Conclusion Faithfulness is key to keeping covenants. Afterwards, blessings follow. God is faithful. The question is; are we ready to walk in faith with him as Abraham did?

The Distinct Epic Format of Ovids Metamorphoses Essay -- Ovid Metamor

The Distinct Epic Format of Ovid's Metamorphoses Ovid's "Metamorphoses" is sometimes argued as a non-epic as well as a true epic. It is mainly viewed as a non-epic because Ovid's subject matter is far from the heroic themes of the "Illiad", "Odyssey", and the "Aeneid" (Keith 237). Ovid was different and was motivated to push the epic beyond its previous boundaries (Ovid). Perhaps in hopes to confirm the structure of his work, Ovid declares that he will undertake "one continuous song in many thousands of verses" (Keith 238-239). Ovid's wording here is a self-conscious declaration that he is going to write in the epic mode. Ovid consciously wants his style to be different, however still contained in the epic form. So, Ovid purposely inserts himself within the epic tradition. First Ovid composes "Metamorphoses" in hexameters, which is "the right metre for epic," according to Aristotle (Ovid). The method of hexameters was considered to be the meter in which epic poems were composed in classical antiquity (Keith 236). Ovid knew how to convince the people of his day of his intende...

Objectives of the Firm Essay

The standard economic assumption underlying the analysis of firms is profit maximization. Real world firms, however, might not, and many times do not, make decisions based on the profit-maximization objective, or at least exclusively on the profit-maximization objective. Other objectives include: (1) sales maximization, (2) pursuit of personal welfare, and (3) pursuit of social welfare. Although firms are assumed to make decisions that increase profit in standard economic analysis, real world firms often pursue other objectives on a day-to-day basis. Some firms set their sights on maximizing sales. For other firms the owners or employees are inclined to enhance personal living standards. And more than a few firms take steps that promote the overall welfare of society. In some cases, these other objectives help a firm pursue profit maximization. In other cases, they prevent a firm from maximizing profit. Profit Maximization Profit maximization is the process of obtaining the highest possible level of profit through the production and sale of goods and services. This is the guiding principle underlying the analysis of short-run production by a firm. In particular, economic analysis is assumed that firms undertake actions and make the decisions that increase profit. Profit is the difference between the total revenue a firm receives from selling output and the total cost of producing that output. Profit-maximization means that a firm seeks the production level that generates the greatest difference between total revenue and total cost. Consider how profit maximization might work for The Wacky Willy Company. Suppose that The Wacky Willy Company generates $100,000 of profit by producing 100,000 Stuffed Amigos, the difference between $1,000,000 of revenue and $900,000 of cost. * If profit falls from this $100,000 level when The Wacky Willy Company produces more (100,001) or fewer (99,999) Stuffed Amigos, then it is maximizing profit at 100,000. Alternatively, if profit can be increased by producing more or less, then The Wacky Willy Company is NOT maximizing profit at the current level of production. Suppose, for example, that producing 100,001 Stuffed Amigos adds an extra $11 to revenue but only $9 to cost. In this case, profit can be increased by $2, reaching $100,002, by producing one more Stuffed Amigo. As such 100,000 is NOT the profit maximizing level of production. * In contrast, suppose that producing 99,999 Stuffed Amigos reduces cost by $11 but only reduces revenue by only $9. In this case, profit can also be increased by $2, reaching $100,002, by producing one fewer Stuffed Amigo. As such 100,000 is NOT the profit maximizing level of production. Sales Maximization A reasonable, and often pursued objective of firms is to maximize sales, that is, to sell as much output as possible. Clearly sales lead to revenue, meaning that maximizing sales is also bound to maximize revenue. But as the analysis of short-run production indicates, maximizing sales does NOT necessarily maximize profit. So why do firms do it? Are firms unreasonable? Are they irrational? Do they NOT understand the basic economic principles of short-run production? For some firms, the answers to these questions could be yes. But for other firms, sales maximization is actually a reasonable, even better, alternative to profit maximization. Consider, the day-to-day production of Wacky Willy Stuffed Amigos. Suppose the President of The Wacky Willy Company, William J. Wackowski, issues a corporate directive to sell as many Stuffed Amigos as possible, to maximize sales. Is Willy Wackowski wacky? It might be that Mr. Wackowski has no knowledge of basic economic principles. Alternatively Wacky William might have more business sense than it appears. In particular, if the price received from selling Stuffed Amigos is greater than the cost of producing each one, and looks to remain that way regardless of the quantity produced, then a reasonable goal is to maximize sales. If sales are greater, then so too is profit. Wacky Willy does NOT maximize profit under these circumstances. That is, it does not produce the quantity that achieves the highest possible profit. However, with each Stuffed Amigo produced, profit increases. In fact, Wacky Willy might not KNOW the profit-maximizing production level. All it knows is that selling more Stuffed Amigos, increases profit. While sales maximization can serve as a means of pursing profit maximization, it can also prevent a firm from maximizing profit. The reason, of course, is that if sales become so large that the cost of production increases such that marginal cost exceeds marginal revenue, the maximizing sales does not maximize profit. Pursuit of Personal Welfare The people who make decisions for a business are, in fact, people. They have likes and dislikes. They have personal goals and aspirations just like people who do not make decisions for firms. On occasion these people use the firm to pursue their own personal welfare. When they do, their actions could enhance the firm’s profit maximization or, in many cases, prevent profit maximization. How about a few examples? Once again, consider William J. Wackowski, the president of The Wacky Willy Company. Perhaps Willy enjoys the finer things in life–a large house, fancy cars, and expensive vacations–which require a hefty income. As the primary stockholder of The Wacky Willy Company, when the business maximizes profit, then William J. Wackowski benefits with more income. In this case, the pursuit of personal welfare coincides with profit maximization. Alternatively, suppose that the Mr. Wackowski hates the color purple. He simply refuse to produce ANY purple Stuffed Amigos. However, market studies clearly indicate that buyers want purple Stuffed Amigos. Moreover, the purple fabric that would be used to produce purple Stuffed Amigos is significantly less expensive than other colors. Mr. Willy clearly is wacky in this case. His purple-phobia prevents profit maximization. William the Wackster might also decide to enhance his corporate lifestyle at the expense of corporate profit. He could, for example, give himself a bigger, more luxurious (but unneeded) office, a higher (but unneeded) salary, a company jet (also unneeded), season tickets to Shady Valley Primadonnas baseball team (clearly unneeded) and other (unneeded) amenities that are NOT needed to profitably produce Stuffed Amigos. These improve William’s personal welfare, but at the expense of corporate profit. Pursuit of Social Welfare The people who make decisions for firms also have social consciences. Part of their likes and dislikes might be related to the overall state of society. As such, they might use the firm to pursue social welfare, which could enhance or prevent the firm’s profit maximization. How might William J. Wackowski’s pursuit of social welfare enhance or prevent profit maximization of The Wacky Willy Company? Suppose that William wants a cleaner environment. As such, he might implement more costly environmentally â€Å"friendly† production techniques and materials. He does his part to â€Å"clean the environment,† but at the expense of company profit. Then again, Mr. Wackowski might feel that government environmental quality regulations restrict capital investment and economic growth. As such, William might have The Wacky Willy Company use part of its advertising budget to promote this view point. He might even use company revenue to set up the Wackowski Foundation for Policy Studies that is both a scientific think tank and a special interest lobbying organization with the goal of reducing environmental quality regulations. While the pursuit of social welfare is likely to reduce company profit, it could have the opposite effect as well. Such activities could give The Wacky Willy Company a likeable public image that motivates people to buy more Stuffed Amigos than they would otherwise. In fact, some firms use the pursuit of social welfare as one aspect of their overall advertising efforts. They enhance their public image at the same time they do something â€Å"good† for society. Natural Selection Whichever objective a firm pursues on a day-to-day basis, the notion of natural selection suggests that successful firms intentionally or unintentionally maximize profit. That is, the firms best suited to the economic environment, and thus generate the most profit, are the ones that tend to survive. The natural selection of business firms is an adaptation of the biological process of natural selection, in which biological entities best suited to the natural environment are the ones that survive. The concept of economic natural selection means that those firms that generate the greatest profit are the ones that avoid bankruptcy and survive to produce another day. While firms might pursue sales maximization, personal welfare, or social welfare, only those firms that also maximize profit remain in business. 2) The following   is from chapter one in the text   Financial Management and Policy, by James C. Van Horne, Copyright 1974 by Prentice-Hall. It is classic finance. THE OBJECTIVE OF THE FIRM In this [course], we assume that the objective of the firm is to maximize its value to its shareholders. Value is represented by the market price of the company’s common stock, which, in turn, is a reflection of the firm’s investment, financing, and dividend decisions. Profit Maximization vs. Wealth Maximization Frequently, maximization of profits is regarded as the proper objective of the firm, but it is not as inclusive a goal as that of maximizing shareholder wealth. For one thing, total profits are not as important as earnings per share. A firm could always raise total profits by issuing stock and using the proceeds to invest in Treasury bills. Even maximization of earnings per share, however, is not a fully appropriate objective, partly because it does not specify the timing or duration of expected returns. Is the investment project that will produce $100,000 return 5 years from now more valuable than the project that will produce annual returns of $15,000 in each of the next 5 years? An answer to this question depends upon the time value of money to the firm and to investors at the margin. Few existing stockholders would think favorably of a project that promised its first return in 100 years. We must take into account the time pattern of returns in our analysis. Another shortcoming of the objective of maximizing earnings per share is that it does not consider the risk or uncertainty of the prospective earnings stream. Some investment projects are far more risky than others. As a result, the prospective stream of earnings per share would be more uncertain if these projects were undertaken. In addition, a company will be more or less risky depending upon the amount of debt in relation to equity in its capital structure. This risk is known as financial risk; and it, too, contributes to the uncertainty of the prospective stream of earnings per share. Two companies may have the same expected future earnings per share, but if the earnings stream of one is subject to considerably more uncertainty than the earnings stream of the other, the market price per share of its stock may be less. For the reasons above, an objective of maximizing earnings per share may not be the same as maximizing market price per share. The market price of a firm’s stock represents the focal judgment of all market participants as to what the value is of the particular firm. It takes into account present and prospective future earnings per share, the timing, duration, and risk of these earnings, and any other factors that bear upon the market price of stock. The market price serves as a performance index or report card of the firm’s progress; it indicates how well management is doing in behalf of its stockholders. Management vs. Stockholders In certain situations the objectives of management may differ from those of the firms stockholders. In a large corporation whose stock is widely held, stockholders exert very little control or influence over the operations of the company. When the control of a company is separate from its ownership, management may not always act in the best interests of the stockholders [Agency Theory]. [Managers] sometimes are said to be â€Å"satisficers† rather than â€Å"maximizers†; they may be content to â€Å"play it safe† and seek an acceptable level of growth, being more concerned with perpetuating their own existence than with maximizing the value of the firm to its shareholders. The most important goal to a management [team]of this sort may be its own survival. As a result, it may be unwilling to take reasonable risks for fear of making a mistake, thereby becoming conspicuous to the outside suppliers of capital. In turn, these suppliers may pose a threat to management’s survival. It is true that in order to survive over the long run, management may have to behave in a manner that is reasonably consistent with maximizing shareholder wealth. Nevertheless, the goals of the two parties do not necessarily have to be the same. Maximization of shareholder wealth, then, is an appropriate guide for how a firm should act. When management does not act in a manner consistent with this objective, we must recognize this as a constraint and determine the opportunity cost. This cost is measurable only if we determine what the outcome would have been had the firm attempted to maximize shareholder wealth. A Normative Goal Because the principal of maximization of shareholder wealth provides a rational guide for running a business and for the efficient allocation of resources in society, we use it as our assumed objective in considering how financial decisions should be made. The purpose of capital markets is to efficiently allocate savings in an economy from ultimate savers to ultimate users of funds who invest in real assets. If savings are to be channeled to the most promising investment opportunities, a rational economic criteria must exist that governs their flow. By and large, the allocation of savings in an economy occurs on the basis of expected return and risk. The market value of a firm’s stock embodies both of these factors. It therefore reflects the market’s tradeoff between risk and return. If decisions are made in keeping with the likely effect upon the market value of its stock, a firm will attract capital only when its investment opportunities justify the use of that capital in the overall economy. Put another way, the equilibration process by which savings are allocated in an economy occurs on the basis of expected return and risk. Holding risk constant, those economic units (business firms, households, financial institutions, or governments) willing to pay the highest yield are the ones entitled to the use of funds. If rationality prevails, the economic units bidding the highest yields will be the ones with the most promising investment opportunities. As a result, savings will tend to be allocated to the most efficient users. Maximization of shareholder wealth then embodies the risk-return tradeoff of the market and is the focal point by which funds should be allocated within and among business firms. Any other objective is likely to result in the suboptimal allocation of funds and therefore lead to less than optimal level of economic want satisfaction. This is not to say that management should ignore the question of social responsibility. As related to business firms, social responsibility concerns such things as protecting the consumer, paying fair wages to employees, maintaining fair hiring practices, supporting education, and becoming actively involved in environmental issues like clean air and water. Many people feel that a firm has no choice but to act in socially responsible ways; they argue that shareholder wealth and, perhaps, the corporations vary existence depends upon its being socially responsible. However, the criteria for social responsibility are not clearly defined, making formulation of a consistent objective function difficult. Moreover, social responsibility creates certain problems for the firm. One is that it falls unevenly on different corporations. Another is that it sometimes conflicts with the objective of wealth maximization. Certain social actions, from a long-range point of view, unmistakably are in the best interests of stockholders, and there is little question that they should be undertaken. Other actions are less clear, and to engage in them may result in a decline of profits and in shareholder wealth in the long run. From the standpoint of society, this decline may produce a conflict. What is gained in having a socially desirable goal achieved may be offset in whole or part by an accompanying less efficient allocation of resources in society. The latter will result in a less than optimal growth of the economy and a lower total level of economic want satisfaction. In an era of unfilled wants and scarcity, the allocation process is extremely important. Many people feel that management should not be called upon to resolve the conflict posed above. Rather, society, with its broad general perspective, should make the decisions necessary in this area. Only society, acting through Congress and other representative governmental bodies, can judge the relative tradeoff between the achievement of a social goal and the sacrifice in the efficiency of apportioning resources that may accompany realization of the goal. With these decisions made, corporations can engage in wealth maximization and thereby efficiently allocate resources, subject, of course, to certain governmental constraints. Under such a system, corporations can be viewed as producing both private and social goods, and the maximization of shareholder wealth remains a viable corporate objective.

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There were many musical sources that made up rock and roll. In fact most and if not all the â€Å"artists who could have been considered rock and musicians prior to 1955† were black except for Bill Haley and his comets. We first have saxophone which was made famous as a rock and roll instrument by â€Å"Jackie Brenston’s solo on Rocket 88†. The electric blues guitar was introduced by T-Bone Walkers’ â€Å"Call It Stormy Monday†, and later perfected by Chuck Berry. Professor Longhair brought the piano into the rock and roll scene by playing a mix of â€Å"offbeat Spanish beats and Calypso down beats. As for vocals go, they came mostly from rhythm and blues performers such as â€Å"Joe Turner, Ruth Brown, LaVern Baker.† Ray Browns’ vocal talents also influenced Little Richard and Ray Charles. There were a few factors that led to the independent record labels being able to compete with the major labels. First was that fact that major labels assumed that audiences would always â€Å"respond favorably to gentle changes in popular styles.† The introduction of rock and roll threw this assumption out the window. Another factor that helped this was the introduction of â€Å"poorly capitalized independent radio stations that were desperate for inexpensive programming.† The final factor that helped out this chain of events was the marvelous introduction of the â€Å"45 rpm† record. This thing allowed all the independent labels to produce mass amounts of music at a low price on an unbreakable medium that shipped at low cost New Orleans could be summarized as the mixing pot musicians. The city was home to almost every ethnic background, and as we know, with every ethnic background comes a different musical sound. It ranged from African to Spanish to Cajun to Cerole and more. Supposedly, New Orleans is characterized as â€Å"the birthplace of jazz†, partly because it was the â€Å"site of thriving R&B since late 1940’s to the... Free Essays on Europe Free Essays on Europe There were many musical sources that made up rock and roll. In fact most and if not all the â€Å"artists who could have been considered rock and musicians prior to 1955† were black except for Bill Haley and his comets. We first have saxophone which was made famous as a rock and roll instrument by â€Å"Jackie Brenston’s solo on Rocket 88†. The electric blues guitar was introduced by T-Bone Walkers’ â€Å"Call It Stormy Monday†, and later perfected by Chuck Berry. Professor Longhair brought the piano into the rock and roll scene by playing a mix of â€Å"offbeat Spanish beats and Calypso down beats. As for vocals go, they came mostly from rhythm and blues performers such as â€Å"Joe Turner, Ruth Brown, LaVern Baker.† Ray Browns’ vocal talents also influenced Little Richard and Ray Charles. There were a few factors that led to the independent record labels being able to compete with the major labels. First was that fact that major labels assumed that audiences would always â€Å"respond favorably to gentle changes in popular styles.† The introduction of rock and roll threw this assumption out the window. Another factor that helped this was the introduction of â€Å"poorly capitalized independent radio stations that were desperate for inexpensive programming.† The final factor that helped out this chain of events was the marvelous introduction of the â€Å"45 rpm† record. This thing allowed all the independent labels to produce mass amounts of music at a low price on an unbreakable medium that shipped at low cost New Orleans could be summarized as the mixing pot musicians. The city was home to almost every ethnic background, and as we know, with every ethnic background comes a different musical sound. It ranged from African to Spanish to Cajun to Cerole and more. Supposedly, New Orleans is characterized as â€Å"the birthplace of jazz†, partly because it was the â€Å"site of thriving R&B since late 1940’s to the...